Friday, November 14, 2014

Puppy Chow Cookies

The ladies on my What’s Cooking chat board have started
the recipe swap again. This is the first one and I was given Caroline’s blog The
Barbee Housewife. She has lots of wonderful recipes. For recipe swaps, I
usually pick something other than cookies, but I spotted this recipe for puppy
chow cookies on her site and I really wanted to make them. I had looked at
making this recipe a while ago, and had never gotten around to it, so now was
the time.

This recipe has you make peanut butter cookies, then dip
them in a chocolate/peanut butter coating and then cover in powdered sugar.
Caroline suggested baking the cookies one day and finishing them the next day,
since you don’t want the cookies to be warm at all when you finish them. I
planned to do that, but that just didn’t happen. I made them and did allow them
to cool for a couple of hours, so that worked.

These cookies are fairly labor intensive and probably
weren’t the best choice to make after a fairly stressful day at work. They are
pretty messy, too, so you have to be prepared to clean the kitchen after making
them. My husband thought the cookies were great without the coating, which was
nice. I got my first batch of chocolate too hot so I had to start over again. I
couldn’t figure out a neat way to dunk these in chocolate, and you have to be
careful to get the extra chocolate off of the cookie. While they were quite a
bit of work, they are worth it! They are such a decadent cookie, rich with the
chocolate peanut butter flavor. Yes, maybe these take some time and they are
messy, but if you are up to the challenge these are great! Thanks to Ashley from Cheese Curd in Paradise for organizing the swap.

Puppy Chow Cookies

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup shortening

2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with
silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter
together until smooth. Add the sugar and light brown sugar and beat on medium
until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt and stir to combine. With the
mixer running on low, gradually add the flour. Stir just until combined.

Using a small cookie scoop, shape the dough into 1-1/4”
balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet. With the palm of your hand or a
small glass, flatten the cookies slightly, about ½” thick.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden at the edge. Don’t
worry that the cookies seem soft. Cool on the baking sheet for several minutes
before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies must be
completely cool before coating.

Make the coating: in a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate
chips, vegetable oil, peanut butter, and shortening. Microwave until melted,
stirring every 30 seconds.

Finish the cookies: Place the powdered sugar in a bowl.
Place a cookie in the chocolate and then turn it over to completely cover in
chocolate. Remove from the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the
bowl. Place in the powdered sugar and cover completely with powdered sugar.
Place on a wire rack to set. Repeat with the remaining cookies.